Test flight of a bioreactor module for cartilage tissue on MASER 9

Within the frame of a project supported by the Microgravity Application Program of ESA we have developed a module for the growth of cartilage tissue starting from primary chondrocytes. The module is based on the scaffold-free chamber “Denovo” of Centerpulse. The long-term goal of the project is the development of a modular bioreactor for tissue engineering on the International Space Station. The two objectives of the experiment on MASER 9 were: first, to test the module and its service unit, second, to investigate whether short exposure to microgravity may alter the structure of the cytoskeleton and genetic expression of 10 selected genes. Post-flight analyses showed that the apparatus worked nominally. No changes were detected in the cytoskeleton. The genetic expression of biglycan was slightly depressed at 0 g.